Horseshoe-gage.



A. M. YATES.

HORSESHOE GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10. 1916.

Patented Oct. 24, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Inventor Witnesses Attorneys A. Mn YATES.

HORSESHOE GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.10. ms.

Patented Oct. 24, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Inventor Attorneys my mums mrnws co ALBERT IVLYATES,.OF TRINIDAD, COLGRADO.

HORSESHOE-GAGE.

Application filed March 10, 1916.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ALBERT MATT. YATES, acitizen of the United States, residing at Trinidad, in the county of LasAnimas and State of Colorado, have invented a new and usefulHorseshoe-Gage, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a gage especially designed for use inmeasuring the sizes of horse shoes.

Heretofore considerable time has been wasted by horseshoers inrepeatedly fitting a shoe to the hoof and it is an object of the presentinvention to provide a gage which can be fitted to the hoof of a horseprior to the formation of a shoe, after which the shoe can be placed,whenever desired, upon the gage, thus to determine whether or not theshoe has been brought to the proper shape and size.

A further object is to provide a gage the parts of which can be readilyadjusted to give the various dimensions of the shoe to be formed andwhich gage is light and durable in construction and will not readily getout of order.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and.arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed without 'departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of the gage; Fig. 2 isa top plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a detailed view of one of the platesof the gage; Fig. 4 is a detail view of the other plate of the gage;Fig. 5 is a section on the line AB of Fig. 4:; Fig. 6 isa frontelevation of one end portion of the actuating lever.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a plateprovided at one side with a tongue 2 and at its other side with anelongated arm 3, the outer edges of the tongue and arm being merged intoone side edge of the plate 1 so as to form a compound curve whichfollows the general configuration of one side and a portion of the frontof a horses hoof. Plate 1 has a longitudinal slot 4; disposed parallelwith the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (Bet. 2 1, 1916.,

Serial No. 83,359.

straight front edge 5 of the plate, this front edge being extended at anacute angle from the inner edge of the arm 3. Extending from the upperface of the plate 1 are cars 6 located at the outer edge of the plate.Graduations are provided upon the bottom of the plate 1 and are extendedalong the straight edge 5. The other plate 7 of the gage is similar ingeneral outline to the plate 1, it being provided with a tongue 8 at oneside and with an elongated arm 9 on its other side, the outer edges ofthe tongue and arm merging into one edge of the plate 7 to form acompound curve of substantially the same shape as one side and a portionof the front of the hoof of a horse. The arm 9 has a slot 10 extendinglongitudinally therein andanother slot 11 is formed longitudinallywithin the plate '7 and parallel with the front straight edge 12 of theplate and which edge is disposed at an acute angle to the arm 9. Apointer or index 13 is extended from the plate 7 adjacent one endthereof and so as to project at right angles from the straight edge 12.Ears 1-1 are extended from the edge of the plate 7 and correspond withthe ears 6 heretofore referred to.

When the parts engaged are assembled the. two plates 1 and 7 areoppositely disposed, the plate 7 extending under the plate 1 and theslots 4,- and 11 registering. A screw, 15 is slidably mounted in theseregistering slots and constitutes the fulcrum of a lever 16 arrangedunder the plate 1 and provided at one end with a finger piece 17 whileits other end is pivotally connected to a slide 18. This slide has astud 19 guided within the slot 10 and a guide finger 20 may be providedupon the inner edge of the slide where it can straddle and travel alongthe inner edge of the arm 9. A wing nut 21 engages the screw 15 and whentightened will-bind thelever 16 and the two plates tightly together sothat they will not shift relative to each other. When the parts are thusassembled the index or pointer 13 will lie close to one of thegraduations on the plate 1. The pivot screw 22 which connects lever. 16to slide 18 can be placed in any one of a series of openings 23 in theslide 18, thus to provide an adjustable connection between the twoparts.

In using the gage the wing nut 21 is loosened thus permitting thevarious parts of the gage to shift relative to each other. The gage isthen placed against the hoof to which a shoe is to be fitted and theparts are adjusted relative to each other so, as to bring the ears 6 and14 against the opposed sides respectively of the hoof. Vhile the partsare thus held the lever 16 .is shifted by pressing against finger piece17 so as to move the slide 18 longitudinally until the end of the slideis brought below or directly opposite the back end of the hoof. hen theparts are thus properly adjusted to the hoof the nut 21 is tightened onthe screw 15 and the parts are thus securely bound together. The gagecan then be taken to the anvil and during the shaping of the shoe it canbe repeatedly fitted to the gage. As soon as the shoe being constructedbecomes of the size and shape indicated by the gage, it can be appliedand secured to the hoof. Thus the time which has heretofore been wastedin passing back and forth from the animal to the anvil is saved and thecost of producing the shoe is consequently materially reduced.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: c

1'. A horse shoe gage including opposed slidably connected membershaving their side edges and one end curved to correspond, substantially,with the configuration of a corresponding portion of a hoof, meansoutstanding from the members for engaging the sides of a hoof, and meansfor holding the members against relative movement, and means adjustabiymounted on one of the members for determining the length of the shoe tobe produced.

2. A horse shoe gage including opposed slidably connected members havingtheir side edges and one end curved to correspond, substantially, withthe configuration of a correspondlng portion of a hoof, meansoutstanding from the members for engaging the sides of a hoof, means forholding said members against relative movement, a slide mounted on oneof the members, means movably connected to said last mentioned memherfor shifting the slide toward one end of the member, said slideconstituting means for determining the length of a shoe, and means forholding the slide against movement.

3. A horse shoe gage including opposed members having their outer sideedges and one end shaped to conform substantially with the configurationof the sides and one end of the hoof, said members having registeringslots extending transversely of the gage, a lever, a slide connected tothe lever and shiftable toward one end of one of the members and meansextending through the members and the lever for binding them togetherand preventing independent movement thereof.

at. A horse shoe gage including opposed slidably connected membershaving their side edges and one end curved to correspond, substantially,with the configuration of a corresponding portion of a hoof, meansoutstanding from the members for engaging the sides of a hoof, means forholding the members against relative movement, and coiperating meansupon the two members for indicating the width of the shoe to beproduced.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

A. M. YATES.

Witnesses E. Fawcn'r'r, I. E. HAMISH.

- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing; the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

